Bravada Gold Corporation has delivered an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment for its 100%-owned Wind Mountain project in Northern Nevada, reporting an after-tax net present value at a five percent discount rate of US$415 million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 60 percent at base case metal prices of US$3,600 per ounce gold and US$48 per ounce silver.

The updated study shifts project economics significantly from the December 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment, which estimated an after-tax NPV of US$46.1 million and an after-tax IRR of 38 percent based on metal prices of US$1,750 per ounce gold and US$21 per ounce silver.

The new mine plan extends the life of the operation to 11.2 years, compared with approximately 4.2 years in the prior technical report. Life-of-mine production is projected at 454,000 ounces of gold and 3.1 million ounces of silver, averaging 40,700 ounces of gold and 280,000 ounces of silver annually.

The economic enhancement also reflects a lower waste-to-ore profile. The updated study reports a strip ratio of 0.20:1, down from 0.55:1 in the 2022 assessment. Initial capital costs are estimated at US$98.1 million, with total project capital reaching US$139.0 million including a 20 percent contingency.

The past-producing property was operated from 1989 to 1999 primarily by AMAX and subsequently by Kinross Gold Corporation, yielding historic totals of 299,000 ounces of gold and 1.77 million ounces of silver before Bravada acquired full ownership.

“This updated PEA fundamentally re-positions Wind Mountain,” said Dr. Paul West-Sells, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Bravada. “With an expanded resource compared to the Prior PEA, we have extended the mine life to over 11 years, increased life-of-mine gold production to 454,000 ounces, increased the after-tax NPV to US$415 million and the after-tax IRR to 60% using conservative metal price assumptions, and dropped our strip ratio to an exceptional 0.20:1.” — Dr. Paul West-Sells, President and Chief Executive Officer

Bravada plans to launch a metallurgical test program and continue its drilling program at Wind Mountain in the fourth quarter of 2026, with the results feeding into engineering work for a Pre-Feasibility Study targeted for the second half of 2027.

Read the full announcement: Bravada Gold Delivers Positive PEA Update for Wind Mountain, Nevada